    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
    [October 2, 2004]
    [Pages 2330-2344]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in a Discussion in Mansfield, Ohio
    October 2, 2004

        The President. Thank you all. Thank you all for coming. Thanks for
    being here.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. Thank you all for coming. I'm proud you're here. Go
    ahead and be seated. Thank you all. Thanks for coming.
        It's great to be here in Mansfield. It's an honor to be back in the
    State of Ohio. You might have noticed I'm spending some quality time
    here. [Laughter] And there's a reason. I believe you have to get out
    amongst the people and ask for the vote, and that's what I'm doing here
    today. I'm here to say, I'd like your vote. And I'm also here to ask for
    your help.
        Audience member. You got it!
        The President. I appreciate it. [Laughter] I want to thank all those
    who are involved in the grassroots politics here. I know our

    [[Page 2331]]

    party chairman is here. I know there's a lot of people putting up the
    signs and making the phone calls. I know people worked hard to turn out
    such a great crowd, and I thank you for it.
        I'm going to thank you now for what you're going to do, which is to
    register people to vote. Don't overlook discerning Democrats like Zell
    Miller when you do so. And then remind people
    that in our free society, we have an obligation to vote. And then when
    you get them headed to the polls, tell them if they want a safer
    America, a stronger America, and a better America, to put me and Dick
    Cheney back in office.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. Thank you all. Got a lot of work to do here.
    [Laughter] I'm here to let you know I have a reason for wanting to serve
    for 4 more years. It's important for a person running for office to say,
    ``Here's what I've done,'' but only to verify that which I'm going to
    do. And that's what we're here to talk about. I appreciate you giving me
    a chance to come. As you can tell, we've got some citizens from the area
    here who are going to help illuminate the points about the approach to
    Government that I take, which is, the role of Government is to help
    people realize their dreams, not tell people how to live their lives.
        And that's a fundamental difference in this campaign. It's a
    fundamental difference. I'm running against a fellow who trusts Government. I trust the people. And we're going
    to spend some time talking about it.
        Before I do so, I want to tell you, Laura
    sent her best. She was a public school librarian in Texas when I asked
    her to marry me. She said, ``Okay, just so long as I never have to give
    a speech.'' [Laughter] I said, ``You've got a deal.'' [Laughter]
    Fortunately, she didn't hold me to my promise. [Laughter] People of this
    country got to see her in New York City. They got to see the woman I
    know--decent, compassionate, strong, and a great First Lady. She said,
    hi. I'm going to give you some reasons to put me back into office, but
    perhaps the most important one of all is so that Laura will be your
    First Lady for 4 more years.
        I'm proud of my Vice President. He's been a
    great friend and a good adviser. I admit it, he doesn't have the waviest
    hair in the race. [Laughter] I didn't pick him for his hair. [Laughter]
    I picked him because he's got good judgment; he's got great experience.
    I picked him because he's getting the job done for the American people.
        I'm proud Oxley's here. I know you're
    proud to have him as your Congressman. Mike Oxley is a fine, fine man.
    Thanks, Ox. And I see the chairman is with us, Ralph Regula. Thank you, Ralph, for coming as well. Appreciate both
    of you here. I just got off the bus, and Mike DeWine went up the road. He is the warm-up person for the next
    speech, but he sends his best. Mike's a great United States Senator, and
    I hope you understand what a great Senator you have in George
    Voinovich. Please put him back into
    office. Thanks for coming.
        Let me--a couple of things I want to say to you. One, as you're
    gathering up the vote, it's important for you to remind your fellow
    citizens what this country has been through for the last 3\1/2\ years
    and the fact that we have taken decisive action to deal with the issues
    that have confronted us. Take the economy. When we got in there, the
    stock market had been in decline for a while. It was kind of an
    indication of things to come, and then there was a recession. Recession,
    of course, means that small-business owners have trouble making payroll,
    that people are just--great uncertainty, that people are worried about
    their jobs. And then, just as we were beginning to get our balance in
    the recession, we found out that some of our citizens were not
    responsible citizens. They didn't tell the truth, and that affected our
    economy. Make

    [[Page 2332]]

    no mistake about it, those corporate scandals affected the economic
    vitality of this country. So we acted. It's called the Sarbanes-Oxley
    bill. It's a bill that says we're not going to tolerate dishonesty in
    the boardrooms of America. And then after that, the enemy hit us, and it
    cost us jobs. The attacks of September the 11th caused a lot of grief, a
    lot of concern. It caused us to change our--aspects of our foreign
    policy, which I'll talk about in a little bit, but it hurt our economy.
        There have been major obstacles in the path for economic success,
    yet we've overcome them. We've overcome them because the entrepreneurial
    spirit in America is strong. We've overcome it because our small-
    business owners are optimistic people. We've overcome it because we've
    got great workers in America. And we've overcome it because of well-
    timed tax cuts.
        We're going to talk a little bit today about how the tax relief
    helped individual families as well as the small-business owners. The
    economy of this country is strong, and it's getting stronger. The
    national unemployment rate is 5.4 percent, which is lower than the
    average of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. We're growing at rates as fast
    as any in nearly 20 years. I understand there's pockets of unemployment
    here in Ohio. It's been tough on this State, and I know that. That's why
    progrowth policies will help. You'll hear other ways to help the people
    who are hurting here. So long as anybody is looking for work, I'll
    continue to make sure this economy has got what it takes to grow.
        Now, let me tell you about our economy. It's one thing to have
    overcome obstacles; the question is, how do you make sure the growth we
    have now is lasting prosperity? It's really the issue in this campaign.
    The best way to make sure work stays here in America, the best way to
    make sure people can find work is to make sure America is the best place
    in the world to do business. That means less regulations on our
    businessowners. That means legal reform so frivolous lawsuits don't make
    it hard to hire.
        We open up our markets to goods from other countries. It's happened
    in previous administrations. Both Republican and Democrat Presidents
    have done so, because it's in your interests. The more products you have
    to choose from, the more likely it is you're going to get that which you
    want at a better price and higher quality. That's how the marketplace
    works. So in return, rather than closing our markets and isolating
    ourselves from the world, I've said to other countries like China, ``You
    treat America the way America treats you.'' The best trade policy is to
    work to open up markets around the world because we can compete with
    anybody, anytime, anywhere if the rules are fair.
        In order to keep jobs here, make sure the doors of our businesses
    stay open, we need an energy plan. I submitted a plan to the United
    States Congress. Congress needs to get it to my desk. It's a plan that
    encourages conservation. We spend billions on research to make sure that
    we can find alternative sources of energy. I strongly believe we ought
    to be using ethanol and biodiesel in the energy mix, which we are. I
    know we can use technology to see to it that our coals burn more
    cleanly. We need to be using technology to explore for natural gas in
    environmentally friendly ways. But to keep jobs here in America, this
    country must become less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
        We've also got to be wise about how we spend your money in
    Washington. In order to make sure this economy grows, we've got to be
    wise. We've got to set priorities and stick to those priorities, and
    we've got to keep your taxes low. If you want this economy to grow, it's
    important to keep your taxes low, and it's an issue in this campaign. My
    opponent has, so far, proposed $2.2 trillion
    of new Federal spending. That's with a ``T.'' That's a lot, even for
    somebody from Massachusetts. [Laughter] And so they said, ``How are you

    [[Page 2333]]

    going to pay for it?'' They asked him, ``How are you going to pay for
    it?'' He said, ``I'll just tax the rich.'' We've heard that, haven't we,
    before. ``Just tax the rich.''
        Today I'm going to talk to a small-business owner that is evidently
    a part of that equation. There's a tax gap in his plan. He says, well--he's going to propose $2.2 trillion, by--but
    by raising the two top brackets, you only raise a little over $600
    billion. That's the tax gap. Guess what happens when there's a tax gap
    in Washington? Guess who gets to fill the tax gap?
        Audience member. We do!
        The President. Yes. As well, when you hear him say ``tax the rich,''
    just remember that the rich hire lawyers and accountants for a reason,
    to slip the bill and pass it to you. The good news is, we're not going
    to let him tax you. I'm going to win in
    November, with your help. [Applause]
        Thank you all. Hold on. We've got to work here. Thank you all.
    Behave yourselves back there. [Laughter] They got the best view in the
    house. Not now. [Laughter]
        A couple other things I want to talk about. I want to remind you I
    understand we're living in a changing world. And it's changed--just
    think about the workplace. It used to be where a person had one job, one
    career, worked for one company, one pension plan, one health care plan,
    and that person was a male--generally a male. Today, the workplace has
    changed a lot. People are changing jobs and careers quite frequently.
    Women are working inside the house and outside the house. And yet, when
    you think about it, the fundamental systems of our Government, like the
    Tax Code or the health care plans or the pension plans, were designed
    for yesterday, not tomorrow. I'm running to change those systems so that
    people have the opportunity to be able to realize the great promise of
    America.
        Let me talk about health care right quick, and we're going to talk
    about an interesting example of what I'm talking about. The health care
    system today, we've got a choice, it seems like to me, and the choice is
    whether or not the Government is going to run the health care or you're
    going to run the health care. I believe it's as simple and as stark as
    that. I've analyzed my opponent's plans, and
    when you think about it, everything he's going to do, it's going to
    cause the Government to be more intrusive in the health care system. To
    me, that's the wrong approach.
        About 50 percent--so here's some practical ideas for you to talk to
    your neighbors about. First of all, there ought to be a safety net.
    There's a safety net when it comes to Medicare. I went to Washington to
    solve problems. I saw a problem in Medicare. Medicare would pay nearly
    $100,000 for heart surgery but not a dime for the prescription drugs
    which would prevent the heart surgery from being needed in the first
    place. That didn't make any sense. It certainly didn't make any sense
    for our seniors. It didn't make any sense for the taxpayers. We brought
    Republicans and Democrats together. We modernized Medicare, and our
    seniors will be getting a prescription drug benefit in the year 2006.
        I believe in community health centers, places where the low-income
    Americans can get primary and preventative care in places other than
    your emergency rooms. And I believe every poor county in America ought
    to have a community health center. I believe in a children's health
    insurance program, but we've got to make sure all those who are eligible
    are signed up to do so.
        But I also understand this reality: 50 percent of the working
    uninsured work for small businesses. Small businesses are having trouble
    affording health care. And in order to enable them to be able to better
    afford health care, I think small business ought to be able to pool risk
    so they can buy insurance at the same discount big businesses get to do.
    My opponent opposes that. I think it--I don't
    think it makes

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    sense. I don't think it's practical, commonsense policy to not enable
    small businesses to be able to afford health insurance for their
    employees.
        Another problem we have in America, and it's America-wide, is the
    fact that there's too many lawsuits which are running good docs out of
    business and running up the costs of your health care. You can't be pro-
    doctor and pro-patient, pro-hospital and pro-trial-lawyer at the same
    time. I think you have to choose. My opponent
    has made his choice, and he put a trial lawyer
    on the ticket. I made my choice. I'm for medical liability reform--now.
        I believe in health savings accounts. We're going to talk about
    health savings accounts in a minute. A better way for me to describe it
    is to let somebody who owns one describe what they mean. But really,
    what they are is a chance for somebody to own their own health care
    account. And I believe good Government policy will encourage--needs to
    encourage small businesses to set up health savings accounts for their
    employees, accounts that you call your own. In a changing world, when
    people change jobs, it makes sense to have somebody be able to own their
    own health care account that they can take from job to job and that they
    can pass on to other generations. See, if you own something in a
    changing world, you have more stability in your life.
        Let me talk about the retirement plans in America. It's really
    important, in my judgment, to think about ownership in the Social
    Security system, in order to make sure our younger workers have got a
    system that is viable. Now, let me make--let me say this to you. In
    2000, when I campaigned, I clearly remember some of these television ads
    saying to our seniors, ``If George W. gets in, you're not going to get
    your check.'' Well, you got your check. It's not going to happen. It
    didn't happen in 2000. It's not going to happen in 2005. Seniors will
    get their checks. Baby boomers, we'll get our checks.
        But we need to be worried about our young kids, our children and
    grandchildren. There's a big bulge of us baby boomers getting ready to
    retire, and there's not enough people putting money in. That's the
    issue. And to make sure Social Security is viable for our younger
    workers, the money in the Social Security trust has got to be earning a
    higher rate of return. That's why I believe younger workers ought to be
    able to take some of their own tax money and set it aside in a personal
    savings account to help fulfill the promise of Social Security, an
    account they call their own and an account the Government cannot take
    away.
        A couple other things I want to say to you about how to cope in a
    changing world. The labor laws were designed for yesterday. We need to
    change them so that people working outside the home are able to have
    flex-time or comp-time. They're able to be able to store up time so they
    can better juggle their needs of being a mom and a worker at the same
    time. The labor laws ought to be family-friendly. The labor laws ought
    to recognize times have changed and give people flexibility so they can
    manage both their home and their career.
        Right quick about education. First of all, I went to Washington to
    challenge this system that sometimes, and too many times, just shuffled
    kids through, grade after grade, year after year without teaching the
    basics. It is not right to allow a child to go through the school system
    without having the tools necessary to be able to compete and work in the
    world of the 21st century. And so I said to Washington, ``Let's do
    things differently. We'll increase Federal spending, particularly for
    the poor and disadvantaged, but in return, we'll start asking some basic
    questions, `Have you taught the child how to read, write, and add and
    subtract?' ''
        And so, now, in return for increased Federal money, States must
    design accountability systems which are able to determine whether or not
    we're meeting the

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    high standards we've set. You cannot solve a problem until you diagnose
    it. And so the idea is to determine early in a child's career whether or
    not he or she can read and correct the reading problem today, before
    it's too late. We're closing a minority achievement gap in America. The
    system's working, and we're not going to go back to the old days of no
    accountability and no excellence in the classrooms, some of the
    classrooms of America.
        But there's more to do, more to do when it comes to education. You
    know, many of the new jobs of the 21st century require a college degree,
    but only one in four of our students gets there. That's why I believe
    we've got to have at-risk programs for high school students so they
    don't slip behind. We've got to emphasize math and science so that
    skills--kids have got the skills necessary for the jobs of the 21st
    century. Over time, I believe there ought to be accountability in the
    high school systems so we can say we've raised the standards. We need to
    increase Pell grants for low- and middle-income families. But all this
    means that more and more of our kids will be able to start their career
    with a college diploma, will be able to compete in the 21st century.
        There's also a skills gap in America. Think about this. In many
    communities, some communities, the job base is changing from the way it
    was, of yesterday, and yet, many workers don't have the skills necessary
    to fill those jobs. We've got a comprehensive program to make sure the
    worker training programs fulfill the needs of the 21st century. I am a
    big believer in the community college system, where many of our workers
    have got the capacity and ability to be able to get the skills necessary
    to fill the jobs in their own neighborhoods, in their own communities.
        And so what I'm telling you is, is I understand this world of ours
    is changing. And we've got plans to say, in a changing world, the
    systems of Government will change with it, not to tell people how to
    live their lives, but to say, ``Here's your opportunity.'' Government
    can't make somebody be ambitious, but what Government can do is say,
    ``Here's a chance.'' We'll give you the skills and opportunity to be
    able to realize the great dreams of this country. That's a hopeful
    America.
        So I'm telling the American people, give me a chance to be President
    for 4 more years, to build a more hopeful America, an America based upon
    ownership. Do you realize, under my administration, the homeownership
    rate is at an alltime high?
        And we're about to talk to a homeowner. But before we do so, I want
    to talk to--Teresa Slaubaugh is with us.
    Thanks for coming, Teresa. Glad you're here. You're married?
        Teresa Slaubaugh. Yes, I am.
        The President. Husband's name, please?
        Mrs. Slaubaugh. My husband is Paul
    Slaubaugh.
        The President. Good. He is--[laughter]--just getting warmed up.
    [Laughter] How many kids you got?
        Mrs. Slaubaugh. I have two beautiful
    children.
        The President. Two beautiful children. Are they here?
        Mrs. Slaubaugh. Yes.
        The President. Let me see if I can pick them out here. No.
    [Laughter] I've asked Teresa to join us
    just so people understand what the tax relief meant. Now, when I talk
    about tax relief, first of all, we cut the taxes on everybody who pays
    taxes. See, if you pay taxes, you ought to get relief. And secondly, we
    raised the child credit. Two beautiful children meant that the child
    credit went up for Teresa and her husband,
    Paul. It is Paul?
        Mrs. Slaubaugh. Yes.
        The President. Whew. [Laughter] Whooo. [Laughter]
        This family of four, because of the reduction in rates, the creation
    of a new rate, the 10-percent bracket, raising the child credit--and oh,
    by the way, just one other

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    thing before I let Teresa speak--she's
    probably wondering if she's ever going to get a word in edgewise.
    [Laughter] The code penalizes marriage. It doesn't make any sense to
    penalize marriage. We ought to have a Tax Code that encourages marriage.
        And so, how much relief--how much tax relief did you all get in '03?
    Do you know? I know. You saved $1,700. That's not a lot in Washington
    terms, I understand that. Did that mean anything to you and
    Paul?
        Mrs. Slaubaugh. It meant quite a bit to
    us.
        The President. Okay, like how?
        Mrs. Slaubaugh. My husband, Paul, works
    as a high school teacher, and he serves our country as a Navy Reservist.
        The President. Great.
        Mrs. Slaubaugh. I'm a home-school mom.
    I'm a stay-at-home mom, and we have benefited from your administration.
    This has allowed us to purchase curriculum for our son, school supplies
    for our son. We have been able to supply piano lessons, physical
    education classes where we have to go outside the home environment to
    supplement his education. And we've been able to take field trips to
    various places.
        The President. Good. Listen, I think it's important--let me just--
    this will help me make my point. After Government meets its obligations,
    after we set priorities and fund them, I think it makes sense to let
    Teresa and her husband, Paul, keep as much money as possible. She can spend her money
    better than the Government can spend her money. That's the philosophy.
    That's our philosophy in this campaign.
        And think about what this means. Think about what the tax relief
    means. I'm so pleased you're here, because it gives me a great example.
    Think about what it means. It means that as a result of tax relief,
    the Slaubaugh
    family has got more choices. It provides more freedom, and they've
    chosen to educate their child at home. First of all, that's a--it's got
    to be really hard to be the mom and the teacher, although moms should be
    teachers, but this is, mom, teacher, and teacher. [Laughter]
        And yet, the money is freeing them up to do what they want to do.
    When you hear me talk about Government policy to create more freedom,
    that's what I'm talking about. They
    have the freedom to be able to make a choice
    that they want to choose, and I want to thank the Congress for making
    sure that the child credit, the 10-percent bracket, and the marriage
    penalty relief that we passed was made permanent for 5 more years. I
    appreciate your work. [Applause]
        Wait a minute. Hold on. We've got a lot more work to do yet.
        So one of the things I love is to hear a story about somebody who
    said, ``I've started my own business.'' I think one of the--I know one
    of the strengths of this country of ours is the small-business sector of
    our economy, and today we've got Grant Milliron with us. [Applause] Pretty well known, evidently. Pretty
    soon you'll be running for mayor.
        Grant E. Milliron. You never know.
        The President. That's right. So tell the people at what age you
    started your business.
        Mr. Milliron. I was 18 years old, and
    I was 9 days away from my 19th birthday. [Laughter]
        The President. You talk about the entrepreneurial spirit, I mean--I
    can't tell you how many people I've talked to that said, ``Well, I
    started my business at the kitchen table,'' or ``in my garage.'' I don't
    know where you started yours?
        Mr. Milliron. Very similar. We started
    with one acre of property and 12 automobiles.
        The President. Really? So what do you do? Give people a sense of
    what your business does.

    [Mr. Milliron, president, Milliron Iron & Metal, Inc., made brief
    remarks.]

        The President. There you go. [Applause] Hold on. Hold on.
    He's doing great. A

    [[Page 2337]]

    couple of points. He said something interesting; I want to remind you.
    He said, ``Your policies have meant a lot to us recently.'' And he
    talked about capital-intensive business--that means machines, got to buy
    equipment. And one of the things he's referring to is the fact that we
    provided incentives for small businesses to make purchases and
    investments, and there's a reason why. I'll get to it in a minute.
        So with this incentive, did you buy anything? What did you buy?
        Mr. Milliron. We certainly have. We
    began a program in late 2003 of reentering the solid waste business. I
    was in that business too for about 15 years. The first thing we did is
    buy three brand new trucks. Those trucks are very expensive. We spent
    almost a half-a-million dollars for three trucks.
        The President. Somebody had to make the trucks. See, he said--what the tax policy did was it increased
    demand; that good tax policy says to Grant, ``Here's something to help
    you in the decisionmaking process,'' which is to make a capital
    investment. When he decides to make the capital investment, somebody has
    to make it for him. That's how the economy works. His decision, based
    upon tax relief, caused somebody else to be able to work and, at the
    same time, meant his own workers were more productive. That's why good
    tax policy is--that's how good tax policy happens.
        Go ahead. How many workers have you got?
        Mr. Milliron. In one company, the iron
    and metal company, we had 23 people going into the first of this year.
    We have added seven people. And once our shredder operation is up and
    running, we know we'll be hiring six or eight more people.
        The President. Think about that. That's what's happening in this
    economy. Grant's got optimism. He sees a
    brighter future. He's making some capital investments to make his
    business more competitive, and he's hiring people. He's added seven
    people. He says he's going to add seven more. It's happening all over
    America. The small-business sector of this country is leading this
    recovery. Seventy percent of new jobs are created by small-business
    owners just like Grant. Isn't that right?

    [Mr. Milliron made further remarks.]

        The President. See, the small-business sector of this economy is
    leading the recovery. But I want to tell you something interesting and
    why my opponent's policies are wrong, in my
    judgment. Grant's company is a Subchapter
    S. That means he pays tax at the individual income-tax level. About 90
    percent of the small businesses pay individual income tax. They don't
    pay corporate tax. They pay individual tax. That's because they're a
    Subchapter S corporation or a sole proprietorship. So when you hear my
    opponent saying, ``Oh, we're just going to tax the rich,'' remember
    this. Thousands of small-business companies are the so-called rich, in
    his vernacular. It makes no economic sense to tax this man as this
    economy is recovering. He just said he's thinking about hiring seven
    more people. It is less likely that Grant will hire people if he knows
    his taxes are going up.
        Good economic policy rewards investment, rewards risktaking, and
    honors the fact that 70 percent of new jobs in this country are created
    by small-business owners just like Grant.
    John Kerry's economic policies will hurt this
    economy. You ready? Good job, thank you.
        Joanna Williams. How are you?
        Joanna Williams. Good.
        The President. You are married to Taylor?
        Mrs. Williams. Exactly. Very good.
        The President. Where is old Taylor?
        Mrs. Williams. Oh, he's right back
    there.
        The President. Oh, yes. Hey, Taylor.
        Mrs. Williams. You just made his day.
        The President. I made his day. Well, I'm trying to get him on TV. [Laughter] Give him a, ``Hi, Mom,'' Taylor.
    [Laughter]

    [[Page 2338]]

        I've asked Joanna here and
    Taylor, because, guess what? They bought
    their first home this year, isn't that right?
        Mrs. Williams. Yes, we did.
        The President. I told you homeownership rates are at an alltime
    high. And so, what was it like?
        Mrs. Williams. To buy our home?
        The President. Yes.

    [Mrs. Williams made brief remarks.]

        The President. Yes, one reason why people are able to afford homes
    today is because of--mortgage rates are low. Interest rates are low.
    This is not the effect of--this is caused by the Federal Reserve Board.
    I can't claim credit for that. But I can claim credit for this, a
    policy--a tax policy which left more money in the hands of those that
    earned it.
        I presume that tax relief helped you afford the downpayment?
        Mrs. Williams. Yes, it did. And it also
    helped with Noah's nursery, and we did home renovations around the house
    too.
        The President. Yes, see? Did you have to buy something to do the
    home renovation?
        Mrs. Williams. The home? [Laughter]
        The President. No, I know. To do the renovation in the home. You had
    to buy the home, that's for sure. [Laughter]
        Mrs. Williams. No hard questions.
    [Laughter]
        The President. Did you go to your local store and--[laughter].
        Mrs. Williams. Yes. Yes. [Laughter]
        The President. You did? That's called stimulating demand. The tax
    relief helped them buy the home; it helped them renovate their home. And
    when they renovated the home, they had to buy something to renovate it
    with. That's how it works. That's how the economy works. That's why you
    want to unleash the individual decisionmaking. See, the economy works on
    the decisions made by consumers, not by Government people. That's how it
    works.
        And so this good family's decisionmaking was affected by good tax
    policy. And she owns her own home. We've got
    plans that encourage others to own their own home. We've got a
    downpayment plan to help those who can't afford downpayments. We've got
    counseling programs to help people understand the fine print. You know,
    a lot of first-time homebuyers--I don't know if that affected you or
    not--but they take a look at that contract; you know, ``I'm not so sure
    I want to sign.'' You need a magnifying glass to read the print. And so
    we've got counselors to help people, first-time homebuyers, to
    understand the contracts they're signing.
        I love it when, in this country, more and more people are opening up
    the door where they live and saying, ``Welcome to my home. Welcome to my
    piece of property.''
        Good job. Thanks for coming. Give Noah a
    hug.
        Mrs. Williams. I will.
        The President. Kevin is with us. He
    is--what do you do, Kevin?
        Kevin McElligott. I'm an insurance
    agent.
        The President. Good. So you know something about that which you're
    able to talk about.
        Mr. McElligott. Well, property and
    casualty, but I do work with health care.
        The President. Yes. Anyway, he's the
    owner of a health savings account. Explain to people what that means.
        Mr. McElligott. It's an insurance
    policy. It's a high deductible, around $4,000. We recently just got a
    couple quotes, conventional versus HSA. Conventional is approximately 50
    percent higher. My employer--thank you--takes that money in savings and
    gives it back to my family in a bank account that we can use for our
    deductible.
        The President. Yes, okay, let me--let me help. [Laughter]
    He owns one. I don't yet. So what he's
    saying is, is that they purchased a high deductible insurance policy. In
    his case--I mean, you can get all kinds

    [[Page 2339]]

    of deductibles--but in his case, they've chosen a 4,000--is that right--
    --
        Mr. McElligott. Correct.
        The President. ----dollar deductible, meaning the insurance pays the
    cost of health care above $4,000. And when you have a high deductible
    policy, it costs you a lot less than a regular insurance policy does. In
    other words, you----
        Mr. McElligott. About 50 percent.
        The President. Fifty percent. So what does it cost you a month for
    your high deductible, roughly?
        Mr. McElligott. Four hundred and ninety
    dollars a month.
        The President. Yes. So the other one would have been----
        Mr. McElligott. Seven hundred and
    forty.
        The President. Something like that. So, in other words, you start
    paying this to buy this high deductible. And so you say to yourself what
    about--what happens between zero and 4,000, in his case? And what
    they've done, and what anybody in America can now do because of the new
    law, is set up a savings account that you call your own. Your company
    helps you with the savings?
        Mr. McElligott. They take the money
    that they save from the conventional, from the HSA, and puts that right
    in your account.
        The President. So they put it in an account. So here
    he's got--think about this now--a family
    has got $4,000 of cash, earning interest tax-free--it's put in the
    account tax-free; it comes out tax-free--that they call their own. If
    they have expenses above $4,000, the insurance policy kicks in. The
    company contributes the money into the account. Think about, now, what
    this means. It means he controls the decisionmaking process, not some,
    you know, insurance executive or insurance worker somewhere. But Kevin
    and his family makes the decisions.
        If there--spends less than $4,000 in the year, the money rolls over
    to the next year tax-free. It's his money at this point in time. He owns
    the account. If he changed jobs, the
    account goes with him. This is a new way for health insurance that does
    a lot of interesting things. It makes sure Kevin is the decisionmaker.
    Is that right?
        Mr. McElligott. Yes, we have the
    freedom to choose which doctor, which hospital, which pharmacy we use.
        The President. It's very important. Secondly, it provides an
    interesting incentive, doesn't it, for he
    and his family to make healthy choices, like walking every day or
    running every day or swimming every--exercising. It's proven that if you
    take time out to exercise, you'll have less disease. And as less disease
    happens, he's got more money in his account. This is an account that
    makes sure the decisionmaking is between Kevin and the doctors, not
    between bureaucrats in Washington, DC. What else can you say about it?
        Mr. McElligott. Well, I have a wife and
    three kids. Just to let you know, we use our health care. I have a 3-
    year-old, Jack, 8-year-old, Laura, and a 10-year-old, Chris, so we do
    use the doctor. And we've been on this for 3 years, and I don't have one
    nickel out-of-pocket for medical care in 3 years.
        The President. Yes, I want people to look at these.
        Mr. McElligott. My wife, Michelle.
        The President. It's a different way of doing things, as opposed to
    the Government telling him what to do or an
    insurance company saying, ``Oh, we'll just cover it.'' The
    decisionmaking process is essential to making sure health care is
    available and is affordable. And this is a way to make sure people are
    directly involved with health care decisions. I urge everybody, small-
    business owners out there to look at these plans. It's a way to make
    sure health care is affordable for your workers. And we're going to make
    sure that low-income Americans have access to this, providing refundable
    tax credits that they can use in a health savings account. It's much
    better if somebody owns their own health account,

    [[Page 2340]]

    than be reliant upon the Government for health care. It's much better
    for the system, and it's much better for the patient. Good job.
        A couple of other things. In a changing world, things shouldn't
    change. We stand for a culture of life in which every person matters and
    every person counts. We stand for marriage and family, which are the
    foundations of this society. I also stand for putting Federal judges on
    the bench who know the difference between their personal opinion and the
    strict interpretation of the law. Okay.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. Thank you all. Let me talk about one other subject. I
    want to talk about how to make sure this country is safer. I want to
    share some of the lessons I learned on September the 11th. First of all,
    that we face a determined enemy that has no conscience. These are--these
    people are--I call them ideologues of hate. They've hijacked a religion
    in order to justify their brutal vision of the world, and they are
    determined, and they are tough. The best way to do our duty to protect
    this country is to fight them overseas so we do not have to face them
    here at home, is to stay on the offense, never relent, use every asset
    at our disposal.
        Second lesson of September the 11th is that this is a different kind
    of war. I wish I wasn't talking about war. It's a war that came on our
    shores. We didn't ask for it. Nobody wanted it, but it's the calling of
    our time, to protect this country. It's a different kind of war than
    we're used to. We face these ideologues who will hide in the cities or
    caves, and therefore, a doctrine--I laid out a doctrine that said, ``You
    can't harbor these people. If you do, you're just as guilty.'' In order
    to protect ourselves, we have said to people around the world, ``You
    will be held to account.''
        Now, when the President has said something, in order to sure this
    world stays peaceful, he better mean what he says. That's why, in the
    course of politics, you can't keep changing your position. You can't
    react to the political situation and say, ``Well, now I believe this,''
    or, ``I believe that.'' There has to be a steadiness when it comes to
    securing this country. And so when I said, ``If you harbor terrorists,''
    I was speaking directly to the Taliban who had been harboring Al Qaida--
    as a matter of fact, thousands trained in Afghanistan--I meant what I
    said. They didn't believe me, and they're no longer in power, and the
    world is better off for it.
        I want you to think about what's happening in Afghanistan. Three
    years ago or a little over 3 years ago, many young girls didn't get to
    go to school because the Taliban had such a dim vision of the world.
    Women were taken into the public square and whipped, or sports stadiums
    and killed if they didn't adhere to the strict doctrine of hatefulness.
    That was the reality and the truth. Plus, they were dangerous, dangerous
    because Al Qaida, the parasite, was slowly but surely taking over the
    host.
        Today, in Afghanistan, 10 million citizens, 41 percent of whom are
    women, have registered to vote in a Presidential election that will take
    place in 10 days. As a matter of fact, I think it's a week from today.
    If I'm not mistaken, the election is a week from today. I could be
    corrected. But think about that. People that once lived in darkness are
    now living in light. Freedom is coming to Afghanistan, and it's
    important for our future to understand the ramifications of a free
    Afghanistan. First of all, it serves as a beacon for others to see.
    Secondly, we now have an ally in the war on terror, not an enemy.
        And in Iraq, it's been tough work there, just like the tough
    decision I had to make, which is the third lesson of September the 11th.
    When we see a threat, we must deal with it before it materializes. If we
    see a--this is an important lesson to remember--prior to September the
    11th, it used to be we'd see a threat and say, ``Well, we may deal with
    it or may not deal with

    [[Page 2341]]

    it, but it certainly can't come home to hurt us.'' That changed on that
    day. Our history changed. It's essential that the President and the
    people of this country never forget that threats must be dealt with
    before they fully materialize.
        I saw a threat in Saddam Hussein. I'll
    tell you why I saw a threat. First, he was a sworn enemy of the United
    States of America. We had been to war with Saddam Hussein. He was
    shooting missiles at our pilots who were enforcing the world's
    sanctions. He had terrorist connections, Abu Nidal, Abu Abbas.
    Zarqawi was in and out of Baghdad. He
    ordered the killing of an American citizen from Baghdad, Foley. This is
    before the--before we went in. Saddam Hussein had used weapons of mass
    destruction. I understood--I understand today that the connection
    between weapons of mass destruction and the terrorist network is the
    biggest threat we face.
        So I saw a threat. And I went to the Congress. And they looked at
    the same intelligence I looked at and concluded Saddam was a threat, and they authorized the use of force. My
    opponent looked at the same intelligence and
    voted yes when it came time to authorize the use of force. I guess it
    matters what the definition of yes is in his mind. [Laughter]
        Before the Commander in Chief commits troops into harm's way, he
    must try everything else, and I did. I understood the consequences of
    putting our kids in harm's way. That's why I went to the United Nations,
    and I said, ``Well, here's a threat.'' They looked at the same
    intelligence and, as they had 16 different times, passed another
    resolution. And the resolution said, ``Disclose, disarm, or face serious
    consequences.'' A President must mean what he says; international bodies
    must mean what they say, too, in order to make this world a peaceful
    place.
        Saddam Hussein just didn't pay attention
    to it. He wasn't interested in resolutions. Why should he be? The first
    16 didn't mean anything to him. My opponent
    the other night said, ``Well, we should have passed another
    resolution.'' What, the 18th resolution is going to all the sudden make
    sense to Saddam Hussein? No, he's just waiting for the world to turn a
    blind eye.
        We didn't find the stockpiles we found--that we thought would be
    there. We thought they'd be there. Everybody thought they'd be. But
    he had that capability of making those
    weapons. And when the world turned a blind eye, you can bet he would
    have.
        So the U.N. obviously wasn't interested in--I mean, Saddam wasn't interested in listening to the U.N. Diplomacy
    wasn't working. The other night, my opponent said, ``Well, we should
    have let the inspectors work.'' The inspectors were being deceived. The
    facts are, as David Kay pointed out, the reality
    on the ground was that the inspectors were being deceived. How can the
    inspectors work if they're being deceived? So I have a choice at this
    time. Diplomacy has failed. Saddam Hussein is basically thumbing his
    nose at the world again, and the choice is this: Do I take the word of a
    madman, do I hope for the best with Saddam Hussein, do I forget the
    lessons of September the 11th, or take action necessary to defend this
    country? Given that choice, I will defend our country every time.
    [Applause]
        Thank you all.
        In the debate Thursday night, my opponent
    continued his pattern of confusing contradictions about Iraq. After
    voting for the war and after saying my decision to remove Saddam
    Hussein from power was right, he says, now,
    ``It was all a mistake.'' He's changing. Then he was asked if our troops
    were dying for a mistake. He said, ``No.'' See, you can't have it both
    ways. You can't say it was a mistake and then it was not a mistake. You
    can't be getting--you can't be for getting rid of Saddam Hussein when
    things look good and against it when things look bad. You can't claim
    that terrorists are pouring across the border into Iraq, yet at the same
    time, try

    [[Page 2342]]

    to claim that Iraq is a grand diversion from the war against terror. A
    President cannot keep changing his mind. A President must be consistent.
    A President must speak clearly, and a President must mean what he says.
    [Applause]
        Thank you all.
        A couple of other things. A couple of other things.
        Audience member. We love you, George!
        The President. In the debate, my opponent
    said something really revealing when he laid out the Kerry doctrine. He
    said that America has to pass a ``global test'' before we can use
    American troops to defend ourselves.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. You might remember that part of the debate, what he
    said. See, Senator Kerry's approach to foreign
    policy would give foreign governments veto power over national security
    decisions. I have a different view. When our country is in danger, it's
    not the President's job to take an international poll. It's the
    President's job to defend this country. I work hard with our friends and
    allies. I just talked to my friend Tony Blair on
    the bus coming into Mansfield. We'll continue working with our friends
    and allies for the sake of freedom and peace, but our national security
    decisions will be made in the Oval Office, not in foreign capitals.
        A couple of other points I want to make for you. The--we've got to
    support our military when they're in harm's way. It's really important.
    We owe it to the troops in uniform. We owe it to their loved ones too.
    That's why I went to the United States Congress and asked for $87
    billion of supplemental funding in September of '03, and the response
    was great. Members of both political parties understood that we needed
    to support our troops in harm's way and voted overwhelmingly for my
    request. Four United States Senators voted for the authorization of
    force and against funding, four of a hundred, two of whom are my
    opponent and his runningmate. [Laughter]
        Think about that, four Members said, ``Yes, we'll authorize force,
    but we're not going to give you what you need.'' That's politics, isn't
    it? So they asked him, they said, ``Well,
    why?'' And he said, ``Well, I actually did vote for the $87 billion,
    before I voted against it.'' [Laughter] Amazing statement. [Laughter]
    The other night he said it was a mistake to say it. No, the mistake was
    not voting yes to fund our troops. That was the mistake.
        Somebody said, ``Well, you know, this war of yours is creating more
    enemy.'' The enemy was plotting before we went into Iraq and
    Afghanistan. The enemy was being trained in Afghanistan. These
    ideologues of hate do not need an excuse for their killing. They're
    trying to shake our will, is what they're trying to do. They want us to
    withdraw.
        We will stay on the offense against them two ways. One, we use every
    asset at our disposal. Our troops are doing a great job in Iraq. They
    are--and they're helping us implement our strategy. Our strategy was to
    transfer sovereignty, which we did early, to a Government run by a
    strong leader in Prime Minister Allawi. Our
    strategy is to train Iraqis so they can fight these folks who are trying
    to stop the advance of freedom, and we're making progress. We've trained
    100,000. We'll have 125,000 trained by the end of this year, and these
    soldiers are doing good work. Look on your TV screens, what's taking
    place in Samarra. The Iraqi soldiers are working hard, and you shouldn't
    be surprised. They want to live in freedom. They understand a free
    society will mean a hopeful society for their children.
        There's a reason why Zarqawi and
    others are fighting. They can't stand the thought of freedom. They
    understand how powerful a free society will be in contrast to their dark
    view of the world. The best way to defeat terrorism in the long term is
    to defeat hopelessness and poverty by spreading liberty and freedom, and
    that's why this battle is taking place in Iraq. And that's

    [[Page 2343]]

    why it's important signal to our troops. The President should never send
    mixed signals. We should never send confusing signals to friends and foe
    alike.
        We'll continue our rebuilding efforts to help these people get up
    and going. We've got $7 million obligated to be spent over the next
    months. There will be elections in January. It's one thing to be
    realistic, but I think you can be realistic and optimistic. I believe
    we're going to succeed. As a matter of fact, I'm confident we'll succeed
    so long as we don't lose our will. And when we succeed, we'll have done
    our duty to protect America. Not only will we have removed a
    tyrant that had been a source of great
    instability and danger to our country, we will have helped a country
    grow in democracy. And that's important, because I believe in the power
    of liberty to transform societies.
        I tell people this so people can understand better what I'm talking
    about. I've got a great relationship with Prime Minister
    Koizumi of Japan, an interesting guy. I
    saw him in New York a while ago at the U.N., and I said, ``I'm telling
    people in our country about our relationship. Do you mind?'' He said,
    ``No, not at all. It's okay.'' He likes Elvis. [Laughter] I didn't tell
    him that part. I don't think he would mind. Do you mind, friend? Anyway,
    it's interesting to think about this conversation--these conversations
    we have with him, though, in this context. Fifty years ago, we were
    fighting the Japanese. Think about that. They were a sworn enemy of the
    United States of America. Fifty years isn't all that long, unless, of
    course, you're 58 years old, which seems like--[laughter]--seems like an
    eternity. [Laughter]
        Anyway, so we were at war with a sworn enemy. My dad fought there. I'm sure, confident, other relatives of
    yours fought there as well. And yet, after that war was over, Harry S.
    Truman and others said, ``Why don't we help Japan become a democracy so
    it becomes a peaceful part of the world?'' There were skeptics in
    America then, of course. You can imagine, many of the families were
    saying, ``Wait a minute.'' Many of the families of the deceased were
    saying, ``Wait a minute. Why would we want to help an enemy that killed
    my loved one become a democracy? Why would we want to help them at
    all?'' But we had a belief that still stands today, that liberty can
    transform societies, liberty can cause an enemy to become a friend.
        And so, today, I sit down with Prime Minister Koizumi talking about the peace we all want, talking about
    how to make this world a more peaceful place. Someday, an American
    President will be sitting down with the duly elected leader of Iraq
    talking about the peace in the greater Middle East. And our children and
    our grandchildren will be better off for it.
        I believe people throughout the world long to live in free
    societies. I believe the women of the Middle East want to be free. I
    believe if given a chance, people will choose the form of government
    which enables people to better realize their dream, democracy. I believe
    all these things not because freedom is America's gift to the world--
    it's not--freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in
    this world.
        And so I've come here to Mansfield, Ohio. I've come here to let you
    know I've got a reason for asking for the vote again. I clearly see
    where this country needs to go. I strongly believe that when I get 4
    more years, this country will be a safer place, a stronger place, and a
    better place for everybody who lives here.
        Thanks for coming. On to victory. God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:15 p.m. at the Renaissance Theater. In
    his remarks, he referred to Robert T. Bennett, chairman, Ohio Republican
    Party; Senator Zell Miller of Georgia, who made the keynote address at
    the 2004 Republican National Convention; senior Al Qaida associate Abu
    Musab Al

    [[Page 2344]]

    Zarqawi; David Kay, former CIA Special Advisor for Strategy Regarding
    Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs; Prime Minister Tony Blair of
    the United Kingdom; Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of the Iraqi Interim
    Government; and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan. A portion of
    these remarks could not be verified because the tape was incomplete.